Debut Showcase: Bite Me

Bite Me (Amazon USA, UK, Canada)
By Parker Blue (website)
Trade Paperback
Bell Bridege Books
Excerpt

My kid sister shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "Dad might not like it if you get vampire blood in his trunk."


I slammed the trunk shut. "He's used to it. Besides, the blood will disintegrate along with the rest of the body when sunlight hits it."

Barely eighteen-year-old heroine Valentine Shapiro got a raw deal in the parent lottery. Her father was part incubus demon, and her mother's never forgiven her for that.

Life after high school is tough enough without having to go 15 rounds with your inner demon. Thrown out of the house by her mother, Val puts one foot in front of the other and does the only thing that seems to make any sense--she takes aim at the town vampires. A stake a day, keeps the demon at bay. (But don't call her Buffy. That makes Lola, her demon, very cranky.)

Her dark side makes everyday life a roller coaster, but means she's perfect for her night job as a bounty hunter. San Antonio's vampires are out of control, and it's up to Val, her faithful hellhound Fang, and her new partner, a handsome San Antonio police detective, to get the deadly fangbangers off the city streets.

Soon enough she finds herself deep in the underbelly of the city, discovering the secrets of the Demon Underground and fighting to save those she loves. Whether they love her back or not.

The author has been published before as romance novelist Pam McCutcheon. She also write nonfiction. The UK and Canadian Amazon links do not yet have the cover image, so I'm guessing they're brand new (just a guess). This novel looks like it takes on vampires as antagonists, but the title makes me wonder. It looks like it is for an older young adult audience; certainly the blurb looks more adult than YA. The hellhound sounds interesting as well.

Editor Paula Guran Weighs In

Paula Guran, editor of Juno Books, weighed in on the Bell Bridge Books discussion with a bit of a lesson on the whys and hows of when books get stocked on the shelves of the chain bookstores. To read it, check out the comments thread of the Bell Bridge Books showcase. Thanks for stopping by, Paula!

Debut Showcase: Moonstone

Moonstone (Amazon USA, UK, Canada)
By Marilee Brothers
Trade Paperback
Bell Bridge Books (Excerpt, Book Trailer)


The girl voted least likely to save the world may have to do just that.

A sickly mom. A crappy travel trailer. High school bullies and snarky drama queens. Bad-guys with charming smiles. Allie has problems. And then there's that whole thing about fulfilling a magical prophecy and saving the world from evil.

Welcome to the funny, sad, sometimes-scary world of fifteen-year-old Allie Emerson, who's struggling to keep her act together (not to mention her mom's) in the small-town world of Peacock Flats, Washington. A zap from an electrical fence sets off Allie's weird psychic powers. The next thing she knows she's being visited by a hippy-dippy guardian angel, and then her mysterious neighbor, the town "witch," gives her an incredible moonstone pendant that has powers only a "Star Seeker" is meant to command. "Who, me?" is Allie's first reaction. But as sinister events begin to unfold, Allie realizes she's got a destiny far bigger than she ever imagined

If she can just survive everyday life, in the meantime.

This is the Bell Bridge Books novel that originally attracted my attention. The excerpt looks fun. The opening lines are particularly fun. The trailer is intriguing. And it already has several good reviews, including Kimberley Swan's review at Darque Reviews.  

Small Press Showcase: Bell Bridge Books

Every once in a while, a small press attracts my attention. I have only worked with a few, and I'm terribly selective. I want to make sure that I'm covering books that are properly supported by a publisher, not simply mechanisms to make money off authors who dream to appear in print, while the author spends a mint. I have had exchanges with disappointed authors who thought they were getting good book contracts, but who end up doing everything including editing, cover design and distribution. If you sign on for that by self-publishing your work--great. But if you think you're getting a more traditional publishing arrangement and you end up doing as much work as if you'd self-published it anyway, that ain't cool.

But I must admit that on the surface, Bell Bridge Books appears to stand out from the crowd. Why? First, it is an imprint of Belle Books. Belle Books has been around for almost ten years, publishing Southern fiction. Another reason is that it's run by a group of successful writers--some of them New York Times bestselling authors. They have been willing to put their names behind it, so they are going to want to make it work.

And lastly, one of those writers--who serves as publicist and editor--took the time to fill out my little form for each of the fantasy novels they have in print, all of which are debuts. This impresses me because she obviously wants her writers to succeed. And the writers can undoubtedly write. How do I know? Bell Bridge Books is confident enough to post excerpts of all books they publish. Those excerpts show skill and polish, and the books look like a lot of fun.

And what about these covers? They are unquestionably professional.
Therefore, in order to support an impressive new publisher, I am going to showcase all Bell Bridge Books in the future, starting with these three in the next few days. As far as I can tell--I havn't written to the editors yet--their books are not yet stocked on shelves of bookstores, but they are available to order, both through bookstores and at all the online outlets. Maybe if they are a success, they'll be able to get the big chains to stock them, like Juno Books does.

I wish them luck and much success.